Countryside
If you’re living in an urban area and looking for a little change of scenery, why not take a weekend trip to the surrounding countryside? You can walk through the wildlife preserve (special area where animals are protected), where a winding footpath (a road you can walk on, that has many turns and changes of direction) will lead you through varied landscapes including dense forests, vast meadows, and gentle, rolling hills.
More adventurous visitors will enjoy exploring the rocky landscape of Yosemite National Park with its towering cliffs (very tall cliffs) and magnificent waterfalls. You can take a hiking trail that goes up the steepest face of the tallest mountain in the park (the side of a mountain is called a 「face」 – and 「steep」 means it is very vertical). The trail starts at the foot of the mountain (the base of the mountain) and the ascent takes about four hours; you can stop to have lunch on the banks of a clear, bubbling mountain stream.
From the summit, there’s a spectacular panoramic view (meaning you can see in all directions) of the area. To the east, you can see the jagged, snow-covered peaks of a distant mountain range (a group or chain of mountains); you can gaze at the lush green countryside (an area with lots of healthy vegetation) to the south, and when looking west, you can see the slow-moving, shallow river (a river that is not very deep or fast) that flows lazily towards the ocean.
The coastline is just a three-hour drive from the mountains, with miles of sun-drenched, sandy beaches. You can stay overnight at a family-run hotel in the picturesque fishing village (beautiful, good for taking pictures), where every room has an unobstructed view (there are no obstacles blocking the view) of the sea. The beaches tend to get crowded in the summer, so one option is to take a boat trip across the bay and explore the secluded beaches (beaches that are hidden) on the island – it’s well worth the trip (meaning it’s a good use of your time to go there).
KEY WORDS AND EXPRESSIONSchange of scenery
風景變化
surrounding countryside
近郊
wildlife preserve
野生動物自然保護區
winding footpath
蜿蜒的步道
varied landscapes
多樣的地貌
dense forests
密林
vast meadows
廣闊的草場
gentle, rolling hills
緩和連綿的山丘
rocky landscape
崎嶇的地貌
towering cliffs
高聳的山脈
magnificent waterfalls
壯觀的瀑布
hiking trail
遠足小徑
steepest face of the tallest mountain
最高峰的陡峭立面
launch a new product
發布新產品
foot of the mountain
山腳
clear, bubbling mountain stream
清澈汩汩的山間小溪
spectacular panoramic view
嘆為觀止的全景
jagged, snow-covered peaks
嶙峋的、白雪皚皚的山峰
distant mountain range
偏僻的山脈
lush green countryside
鬱鬱蔥蔥的鄉村
slow-moving, shallow river
潺潺的潛水河
sun-drenched, sandy beaches
陽光燦爛的明媚沙灘
picturesque fishing village
風景如畫的小漁村
unobstructed view
一覽無餘
boat trip
遊船
secluded beaches
人跡罕至的海灘
it’s well worth the trip
不虛此行
Quiz
1. Don't bother going to the village - it's not merit / worth / value the trip, there's really nothing to see.
2. From our window, we had an unobstructed look / sight / view of the castle up on the mountain.
3. If you want more privacy, there's a winding / secluded / unobstructed beach an hour's drive outside the city.
4. Moving from New York City to a small farm in the midwest was quite a dramatic change of face / scenery / view.
5. The all-day boat / ship / sailor trip leaves at 7 AM every morning and takes you to 5 different islands.
6. The hikers tried to find the trail through the dense / heavy / jagged forest.
7. The stream is quite lush / gentle / shallow - the water only comes up to your ankles.
8. This mountain range / span / scenery extends north to Canada.
9. We went bird-watching in the countryside / fauna / wildlife preserve.
10. You can't get there by car; you have to take the footpath / footroad / footstreet.